The subject invention relates generally to an improved powder paint reclamation collector for use with a production powder paint application booth.
The application of powder paint has become an increasingly utilized method of painting mass production products, such as automobiles, to reduce volatile organic compound emissions from a production paint facility. A typical powder paint booth includes powder paint reclamation system that increases the paint usage efficiency upwards of ninety five percent. This type of reclamation system includes a reclamation collector positioned beneath each section of the paint booth. A typical reclamation collector includes an upper chamber for separation of process air and powder paint particles from a paint booth and a lower chamber that receives the particles from the upper chamber. A vacuum line is connected with the collector for transferring the particles from the collector to a powder paint reclamation system. To effectively retrieve the particles from the collector, the particles must be maintained in a fluidized or suspended state. Otherwise, the particles will agglomerate, build up in areas not having sufficient fluidization, and ultimately result in paint defects on the painted products.
To overcome these difficulties; presently available collectors include an air chamber that receive pressurized air from an air supply. The air chamber communicates with the lower chamber through a porous plate that dissipates the pressurize air. The pores in the porous plate, or plate density, are sized to prevent paint particles from entering the air chamber while allowing air to exit the air chamber. The porous plate is oriented generally horizontally and parallel to the floor of the air chamber.
While the vacuum line is typically located in the lowermost position of the lower chamber, the entirety of the porous plate is positioned below the vacuum line due to the plate""s horizontal orientation. To provide a sufficient amount of fluidizing air pressure, several air inlet lines feed pressurized air into the air chamber. The additional air inlet lines are required to prevent an agglomeration of paint particles in areas that are distant from the vacuum line and otherwise would not receive adequate fluidization.
Thus, it would be desirable to reorient the porous plate and the air chamber floor to improve the transfer of fluidized paint particles to the vacuum line for preventing the buildup of paint particles in the lower chamber.
The subject invention is a powder paint reclamation collector that has been modified to improve the flow of fluidized paint particles into a vacuum line for transfer to a paint reclamation system. The collector includes an upper chamber for collecting powder paint particles from a paint booth. The upper chamber funnels fluidized paint particles to a lower chamber. A vacuum line is connected to the lower chamber retrieving the fluidized particles from the collector and transferring the particles to the reclamation system to be reintroduced to paint application equipment in the paint booth.
An air chamber receives pressurized air preferably from a single air inlet line directed downwardly toward the air chamber floor and is separated from the lower chamber by a porous or semipermeable plate. The porous plate allows air to flow into the lower and upper chambers for fluidizing the paint particles and prevents the particles from entering the air chamber. Thus, the porous plate has pores or openings therethrough which are smaller than the diameter or particle size of the powdered paint, but large enough to transmit air therethrough. An air chamber floor and the porous plate angle downward, generally in parallel relation, from the lower chamber towards the vacuum line.
Angling the porous plate and the air chamber floor downward towards the vacuum line facilitates the transfer of paint particles from the collector to the vacuum line. Because the vacuum line is positioned below a substantial portion of the porous plate, gravitational forces will assist the flow of paint particles into the vacuum lines as opposed to contributing to the build up of particles in areas that don""t receive adequate fluidizing air turbulence. In the preferred embodiment, the air chamber floor and porous plate are parallel and are angled toward the vacuum outlet at an angle of greater than four degrees. It has been found that it is possible to obtain uniform distribution of air and, therefore, uniform suspension of the powder with one inlet and clean, dry pressurized air pressure (60-80 psi) where the distance between the porous plate and the bottom wall is about 3 inches or less. Further, the orientation of the porous plate in this manner allows for the reduction of the number of air inlet lines necessary to adequately fluidize the paint particles for an efficient transfer through the vacuum line to the reclamation system.